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Ilia Malinin had a clear path to the gold medal on Friday night, but that is why nothing is at stake on paper.
The 21-year-old American skating phenom, nicknamed the “Quad God” for his astonishing jumping ability, failed to medal after being the heavy favorite to win gold, finishing in eighth place.
Malinin hit a quad-flip to start, but then settled for a single axle. Then it did a double loop instead of a quad loop, which wasn’t exactly what I expected.
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in men’s single skating on the seventh day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
From there everything went downhill. Malinin then fell on a quad lutz attempt and then fell on another jump shortly after.
While on the bench, Malinin said that if he had been in Beijing four years ago, he wouldn’t have skated as badly as he did. Malinin was 17 when he was left off the veteran roster and it was clearly a mental battle.
“I didn’t expect that,” Malinin said. “I honestly can’t process what just happened.”
“I ruined it.”
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
